School Committee Approves Budget Extension Request Amid Override Uncertainty
Extension gives district time to navigate town votes on Proposition -1/2 override scheduled for late June
BRIDGEWATER - June 5 - The Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District School Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to request a 15-day extension from the state Commissioner of Education finalize its fiscal year 2026 budget, a move necessitated by pending override votes in both member towns.
The special meeting, lasting just under 20 minutes, addressed the procedural requirements needed to keep the district's budget process on track while awaiting the results of Proposition 2-1/2 override votes scheduled for June 21 in Bridgewater and June 24 in Raynham.
School Committee member Timothy Fitzgibbons explained that the extension request is necessary because state law requires the committee to take action on its budget within 30 days after a member town fails to approve it.
"Within 30 days of the first town disapproving our budget, we need to either reconsider, amend or recertify our budget or by June 15," Fitzgibbons said. "If we don't have a budget approved by all three parties because the town elections are outside of that 30-day or June 15 date, we need a motion to approve a request to the Commissioner."
The extension will give the committee until June 30 to make budget decisions, allowing them to wait for the results of both override votes before determining next steps.
The complex timeline stems from different government structures in the two towns. Bridgewater, with a Town Council form of government, is deemed to have not approved the school committee's budget as of May 16. Raynham Town Meeting voted on May 19, also not approving the full school committee request.
Committee member Michael Losche made the motion to request the 15-day extension, which was seconded by Dan Gouthro. The motion passed with all members voting in favor.
Fitzgibbons characterized the extension request as primarily procedural, noting that Michelle Griffin from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) described it as "a housekeeping thing."
"It puts them on notice that our budget might not be approved. We might have questions. It kind of puts it on her radar just to follow up and make sure we don't have questions, we're following the timelines, etc.," Fitzgibbons said.
The committee has already scheduled a meeting for June 25, the day after Raynham's override vote, to address the budget based on election results.
If both towns approve the override, the committee's original budget would move forward. Raynham's ballot language would directly appropriate funds to the school district, while Bridgewater would need to hold additional meetings to formally appropriate the money.
"The wording that Raynham has put on the ballot will appropriate the money directly to us," Fitzgibbons explained. "Bridgewater needs to then have a special Town Council meeting afterwards to vote to actually appropriate the money to where it's supposed to go."
Bridgewater officials are working to schedule these meetings before July 1, the start of the fiscal year, to avoid operating under a 1/12 budget – a month-by-month spending plan based on the previous year's budget.
If either override fails, the committee will need to decide whether to reconsider its budget, amend it to match town appropriations, or recertify the original request. If the committee recertifies its original budget and towns again reject it, state law would require a joint town meeting where voters from both communities would determine the final budget.
"By statute, you have to go to a joint town meeting," Fitzgibbons said. "Because DESE looks at it like you've had two shots with you and your parties to get a budget approved and you failed. So now it's going to go to your voters."
Committee member Jessica Davenport asked if the 15-day extension was the maximum allowed, which Fitzgibbons confirmed is the limit under state statute.
Committee Chair Rachel King inquired about additional steps that might be needed in the process.
"Is there anything else proactively like through this process that we should be thinking about in terms of Raynham process, the Bridgewater process... or other extensions that might be coming or needed?" King asked.
Fitzgibbons responded that the current extension request is the next necessary step, with further decisions to be made at the June 25 meeting based on override results.
The committee's original budget was approved on March 26 and forwarded to both towns on April 1. The school committee will now await the results of the override votes before determining its next course of action regarding the fiscal year 2025 budget.
Watch the complete meeting courtesy of the Bridgewater Raynham School District.
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